Lawn Mowing 101

     I keep things quite interesting around our house when it comes to using something mechanical.  So...Darrell got a fancy new Honda lawn mower in May.  You know how it goes with men and their toys...so I haven't had a chance to use it myself (even though I mowed the lawn 80% of the time last summer)!! 

     Today was finally the day that Darrell had time to give me the "Honda Lawn Mowing Tutorial 101."  It was a nice afternoon weather-wise, so I put on a tank top and my sunglasses and was ready for my tutorial from Darrell all the while thinking, "How hard/different can this new lawn mower really be?"  I should add that when Darrell briefly showed me the thumb propelled unit in June, I took off running behind the mower, ran it into the shed, and hit the fertilizer spreader causing the orange wheels to go flying into the air.  Darrell ended up laughing his butt off; of course, Darrell had to tell my dad this story and told me to wait to mow the lawn until he had a chance to go through things with me.  (In my birthday card from my parents, my dad even had to rub it in a little by adding this message..."I'm sure you will be running with your choke out.  If you have some extra time, you might grab a hold of the lawn mower and jog around the yard."  Ha, ha, dad!!  

     All was going well.  I was mowing right along.  (Even Heidi and Luke stopped by to say hello in Luke's new tractor.)  A large cloud moved into the area, and I felt a few raindrops, but to the right of the cloud, the sun was still shining.  I thought that I would be able to finish mowing despite a few raindrops.  Boy, was I wrong!!  It turned out to be quite the cloud burst, and down came the rain!!  Darrell ran out and told me to quit mowing.  At this point, I am thinking why not finish...I am already wet??!! 

     Well, after the heavy rain fell, I resumed mowing in the light rain, and by the time that I finished, I looked like I could have entered myself into a wet T-shirt competition!!  Darrell brought me some towels and a dry T-shirt and proceeded to thank me for my efforts but really what he wanted to say was that I am living up to my Polish heritage.  I am sure he'll be sharing this story with my father in the near future!!

    

 Evidence of my lawn mowing adventure today

The finished product!!

 I thought that I would also show these nice window boxes that Darrell made.

"Thanks for Ten Great Years..."

     Today Dani and I planned on seeing the last Harry Potter movie together.  We have read all seven of the books together and have seen all of the movies together now.  In her early years, Dani wasn't very fond of reading and needed a lot of encouragement from her dad and me.  After reading the first Harry Potter book together, she was hooked and became quite a reader.  Now look...she has a degree in information media.  Who knew that she would want to be a librarian one day? 

     As we were walking out of the movie theater, Dani turned to me and said, "Thanks for ten great years of books and movies together."  It was nice to know that this tradition that we started a number of years ago meant something to her; it was a very special moment and one that I will definitely treasure!! :0)

     My friend and neighbor, Katie, isn't an avid reader.  Granted, she doesn't have a lot of spare time with two young kids and a full-time nursing job, but reading isn't on her top ten list of favorite hobbies.  So earlier this summer she was very excited when she finished the book, The Help.  She was even more excited to find out that it was also going to be a movie.  Since the kids are still in Canada with her in-laws and tomorrow is her birthday, what better chance would she have to go to a movie?  (No worries, Barb, Alison, Heidi, and April, I will definitely see it again with all of you!!) 

     It was a great movie, and I was glad that it was so similar to the book since often times movies aren't nearly as good as the books!!  We both commented that they did a good job casting the movie and making it much like the book.  It was a great way to spend the day!!

Bisch Bash 2011

     Today we had our annual "Bisch Bash" at April's cabin.  April and I teach together, and she started this tradition quite a few years ago by inviting the English department and their kids over for a relaxing day at her cabin.  Everyone brings something yummy to share, and we just catch up on each other's lives while enjoying the kids at play.  She has continued to invite English teachers who have left Big Lake for other districts (and any new English teachers) and has also included a couple of social studies teachers now that she teaches both English and social.  It is always nice to catch up with Jodee and Amanda who taught with us for a number of years.  It was exciting to see Amanda and her new baby girl, Eleanor!  Thanks, April, for another wonderful time at your cabin.  It is always such a fun day with everyone!!

Some of the crew gathered together for a picture

 Jodee and her four kids: Thomas, Andrew, Amelia, and Julia

Baby Eleanor and me

The five of us made up the English department for a few years.  It was good to be together again!! :0)

Brynn enjoying some snuggle time with mom

Bailey tried to snuggle with them too...she's too big for mom's lap now though!!  Brynn is hidden in there somewhere!! :)

 New mom, Amanda, enjoying some time with Eleanor

 Michelle and Bridget help Sydney get her new fishing pole ready.  Syd just couldn't wait to start fishing, and she was so excited that the new pole came with a tackle box!!

Syd, Amelia, and Brynn proudly show off their first catch of the afternoon

Brynn and Amelia

April, Amanda, Eleanor, Alison, and me

Happy birthday, Mom O. :)

     Happy birthday, Mom O.!!!  Today, on the 7th, she is 77.  Last night we celebrated by having a surprise birthday party for her at Todd and Missy's house.  Even Patti, Paul, and Evan were able to make it from Rochester.  She was so excited to have almost everyone from the family gathered together to celebrate her birthday.  She has had a very tough year with the passing of Darrell's dad and her recent diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease.  Her own health problems have been plaguing her throughout the year, so it was great to see her having such a good time throughout the evening.  She hasn't smiled that much in a very long time!!  She was even one of the last ones to leave.  We are so glad that we were able to get together and enjoy a wonderful meal and lots of laughs.  Blessings to a special lady!  We love you, Mom O.!!!

Mom and her birthday cake :)

 Time to celebrate!!

 Grandma and Chelsea

 Sisters-Chelsea & Lindsey

 The Ostendorf Family

 All of the girls gathered around mom/grandma

 All of the boys gathered around mom/grandma/great grandma

When we were singing, she pointed to herself when we sang, "Happy Birthday, dear mom!!"  It was very cute!! :0)

Time to say Goodbye ):

     Thanks to my family for another awesome summer visit!!  It is always so nice to gather together and do so many fun activities, but most importantly, spending time with each of you is what blesses us the most and what we enjoy the most about our summer vacation at home in Wyoming!  We love you all so very much!!  Until Christmas...

Wyoming Wildlife

The beauty of Shell Falls

     Darrell couldn't eat his last pancake, so the squirrel by the deck of the cabin enjoyed it instead!!

Three shots of the North Fork Tongue River:

Observation Point (obviously) - Check out the elevation!!

Local wildlife we encountered on our walks...

     These two gents greeted us on a walk this week; I didn't even have to use the zoom lens on my camera!! JJ wasn't sure what to think when she and the bison met nose to nose through the fence. The big guy on the right was just looking for a snack and then decided it was time to rest.

     It's amazing that I can take the dogs for a walk in the park by my parents' house and come across so much Wyoming wildlife!!

One last shot of the many horses from last week's rodeo...all of the riders were wearing pink in honor of breast cancer awareness.

Relaxing

     How much more comfortable can a dog get?  Really?!  These two are such good buddies, and where one of them goes, the other is sure to follow.

     Today Barb and I had our summer ritual of enjoying veggie pizza, fruit dessert pizzas, visiting, reading, and relaxing at her house near the Mississippi River.  We usually have this type of day to begin summer and to end summer; this year it just happened to be later than usual.  Regardless, it is always so nice to have a quiet day like today.  It is very peaceful to hang out by the big picture window she has and soak in the view.

 

 YUM!!!

 The view out Barb and Mike's picture window...the huge orange flowers are fabulous to see in person!!

     This is my designated chair; it is so comfortable.  We read for awhile, visit some, and maybe even shut our eyes for a few minutes, but we always comment how nice it is to take the time to slow down and enjoy life. 

Lunch & a Matinee :)

     I started today off with an hour long massage, which was wonderful especially after last week's landscaping adventure.  After that, I met up with some friends from school: Alison, April, and Heidi.  Alison also brought along her teenagers, Dylan and Brandy.  They are such great kids!!  They actually don't mind being seen with their mom at their ages!  We met by Chipotle and LeeAnn Chin, so everyone could have a choice for lunch.  It was nice to enjoy lunch outside too. :)  We then headed to the matinee.  It was great to spend time with them today.  We all couldn't believe that it was already August!! Time sure does fly...especially the summer!!

The Annual Finale Party

     Tonight was the annual Bachelorette Finale party at Simona's house.  We gather together each August for dinner and a night of fun while we watch the finale of The Bachelorette.  We always have a lot of fun, and tonight was no exception!!  Most of the ladies in the picture teach with me at the middle school, one is at the high school, and the other isn't a teacher but a good friend of Jill's.  The masks represented one of the guys from the show, so we had a lot of fun with those this year!!  Congrats to Barb for winning this year's big gift basket!! :)  Thanks, Anna, for taking the pics tonight!!

 Marney, Jill, Simona, Claudia, Barb, Heather, & I gathered for a picture before the show started with and without our masks.

 Even Wilma joined in on the fun!! :0)

Simona, Jill, and me :)